What Book Are You Reading? Volume 9

[Imperialmajesty]

Which gives another author reading his book the right to misrepresent it and make crap up, even if it were true?

Like I said, until I read the book, I can't make a call on that claim.

But since you are such an upstanding poster, I will give you the benefit of the doubt until then.

 

[flyingchicken]

At the beginning chapters of: Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer and A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II by Gerhard L. Weinberg.

 

[JonathanStrange]

After the Ice: A Global Human History 20,000-5000 BC by Steven Mithen. An archaelogist's fieldtrip through human history, told in a series of vignettes in which a time-traveler observes human culture at various levels of development over the millenia.

After a few thousand years and forty/fifty stops (I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book), I am getting a bit of data overload but it's been fascinating for me, for the most part. All the incidents and scenes are based on archaeological remains and educated speculation and are fascinatingly told - yet the sort of detail that one must keep in mind when the setting abruptly changes does start to slow me down.

What's simple for a movie or documentary to show - we switch from a desert setting to a woodlands floodplain with all the different flora and fauna, all of that's perceived instantly - becomes taxing reading when yet another scene has to be set and differences pointed out in tools, clothing, foods, etc.

Basically, I'd say in general the book's best suited for the archaelogical student or the persistent. I'll finish the book but I've been helped out by having a few illustrated books to help me visualize better.

 

[Agent327]

Finished Bart D. Ehrman, Misquoting Jesus: the story behind who changed the Bible and why (2005), in translation. Actually about changes in the New Testament, not the entire bible, but quite interesting. (Even if it only confirmed in detail what I already knew in general.) Some quite famous quotes turn out to be not in the 'original' mansucripts. Highly recommended if you're interested, with plenty of references for further (or more in-depth) reading.

 

[Masada]

What do you mean by 'original manuscripts?'

 

[Ulyaoth]

The sources, Dead Sea Scrolls maybe?

 

[Smellincoffee]

I'm reading through Steven Sayor's Roman mystery A Mist of Prophecies and through Epictetus' Discourses.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

The sources, Dead Sea Scrolls maybe?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are copies of some Old Testament books and lecture/sermon notes and transcripts.

 

[Ulyaoth]

I thought they also had the gospels in them? Well then they just mean the sources of the Gospels then.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

They're Jewish in origin. Why would they have The Gospels in them? Further, the Gospels hadn't been written by the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

[Ulyaoth]

Christianity was originally a Jewish sect you know. And I thought the DSS were written about 100AD, which would be about when the Gospels were first being written, but if they're not, whatever then.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Christianity was originally a Jewish sect you know. And I thought the DSS were written about 100AD, which would be about when the Gospels were first being written, but if they're not, whatever then.

The last was written before the Jewish Revolt. The sects who wrote the DSS were besieged and exterminated by the Romans.

 

[Earthling]

Started reading Moby-Dick by Melville a couple of days ago, having never gotten around to reading it. I'm a little surprised at how funny it is, at least at the beginning. As I haven't gotten very far in yet, I don't know whether or not Ishmael's self-deprecating sense of humor is going to last the length of the story. But it certainly is entertaining so far.

I also found Moby Dick hilarious as well - in the parts it's meant to be at least (which is a good chunk a lot of people don't get that the author and the reader should both be clear that Ishmael is often ignorant/wrong). And I didn't really have any problems with the overall dramatic/repetitive themes, cultural allusions, etc... - some were even quite interesting, like the portrayal of St. Elmo's Fire.

Edit:

Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future. by Will Bunch

This should go straight to CFC OT recommend reading...

Hello everybody!!

I am reading The Three Musketeers!!

This is the most exciting book ever!

It's about d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, against the Cardinal, with the King and... well, conflict with the evil Milady! In my opinion, these four heroes are nothing more than 8-year-old boys in adult bodies. They have a wonderful time as they protect their country and each other. They are a lot of fun.It's just the best book ever, combined with action and romance and history of France, and everything!!

Read It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations, see you on an Indian gameshow next decade

 

[Ulyaoth]

That movie was awful.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

A good movie spoiled only by the sense that it was manufactured for the Oscars.

 

[JtheJackal]

Reading Pride and Prejudice, its very well written and witty.

 

[Pokurcz]

The last was written before the Jewish Revolt. The sects who wrote the DSS were besieged and exterminated by the Romans.

In december 1945 51 gnostic gospels originating from the same as the gospels in the new testament were found in a cave in northern Egypt, the dead sea scrolls are a separate find (1947). These gospels are in part such that did not find their way in to the New testament and the gospels of separate christian and gnostic churches that where finaly destroyed by the catholic/orthodox church.

I recomend the book "The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels, where these gospels and their history are described with quotes from them that are quite fabulous, I don't remember wich one but one quote was aproximately: "and Jesus said XXXX, and as usual Peter did not understand a thing". There was actualy a gospel of Mary Magdalen.

 

[Masada]

Let's recap. There are no 'original manuscripts' for the New Testament, it was a bunch of oral traditions which were only written down after the fact and almost certainly not by the Apostles themselves. The use of 'original' as a descriptor is therefore useless.

In december 1945 51 gnostic gospels originating from the same as the gospels in the new testament were found in a cave in northern Egypt, the dead sea scrolls are a separate find (1947).

You've more or less answered your own question there.

These gospels are in part such that did not find their way in to the New testament and the gospels of separate christian and gnostic churches that where finaly destroyed by the catholic/orthodox church.

No, they were not destroyed.

I recomend the book "The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels, where these gospels and their history are described with quotes from them that are quite fabulous, I don't remember wich one but one quote was aproximately: "and Jesus said XXXX, and as usual Peter did not understand a thing". There was actualy a gospel of Mary Magdalen.

The resident theologian can probably elucidate on why they were 'fabulous' and why exactly they fell out of use by Christians -- and no it wasn't the result of persecution.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

In december 1945 51 gnostic gospels originating from the same as the gospels in the new testament were found in a cave in northern Egypt, the dead sea scrolls are a separate find (1947). These gospels are in part such that did not find their way in to the New testament and the gospels of separate christian and gnostic churches that where finaly destroyed by the catholic/orthodox church.

How does this address my post?

 

[Dachs]

Has anybody here read Holger Herwig's work on Austria and Germany in the First World War? Any good?